Beneath the Broken Soul
by Dustal Gray
Summary: And so the Flames of the Serpent are no more, and the world continues its normal pace. Muraki has survived, and Hisoka and Tsuzuki plan to stick together to defeat him. But pain is one of the most strongest weapons- against the weak...


9/2/10

...

It has been six hours since the fire at the university had been maintained by the local fire-department, yet the police still linger, shaking their heads in confusion. The entire university had literally collapsed on itself, yet there were no marks of explosions. The idea of a fire possessing such power, however, grew inside the policemen's brains until it formed into a tree of endless possiblities- each branch having its own trail of thought. Digging around the ruins, they confirmed that the fire had started in the basement, where an illegal lab had been maintained for God-knows-how-long. Further exsaminations in the burned lab had confirmed blood and a weapon of a possible murderer; however, no bodies were found. But what confused the police the most was the massive container that seemed to have been broken into- but in reality, the ruins had fallen onto the container, smashing it to bits. Whatever the container held was unknown, but based on the dark scares of blood smeared on the glass and in the cracks, they figured someone went through a great deal of effort to break it out- despite the fire. There was even a severed head in the base of the container.

...

Alone in his apartmant, Oriya looks out the window, seeing the dim, flickering police lights, a long pipe dying by his lips, quietly, with every puff. "So he really is gone..." Oriya says quietly to himself. He removes the pipe from his lips to sigh, bowing his head. His reddish-brown eyes beome covered as his thick lashes droop over them in thought. With one hand, he pushes a stray length of dark hair from his face, then raises his head back to the window.

"Will you come back to me?" he questioned the invisable man. "Or are you truly leaving me behind- as always?" With a slow smile, Oriya looks back down and replaces his pipe, teeth clamping down gently on the warm tip. "Just be careful..." he says softly. "...Muraki.."

...

Back in the between world- the Judgement Bureau- Tzusuki and Hisoka have just returned to their hospital beds after taking a walk in the night.

Smiling at Tatsumi, who opened the door for them, Tzusuki says, "Thank you again, Tatsumi." and he sits down.

His glasses glint in the bright room, casting white diamonds in Tatsumi's blue eyes. He smiles slightly, and leaves the room after giving Hisoka an understanding nod.

Hisoka sits in his own bed and watches as Tzusuki slips off his sandals and sinks into the blankets with a long, pleasant sigh.

"It sure is nice to know your place..." he says sleepily. "Here, with you..."

"Tzusuki..." Hisoka says, shocked.

Winking, the other man looks at Hisoka. "Don't look so surprised!" he says. "I know you feel the same-"

Hisoka throws himself out of bed and onto Tzusuki, hugging the older man around the neck.

"Hi-his-" Tzusuki stammers.

"Shut up, you idiot..." says Hisoka in his ear, his voice strained with emotion. He arranges himself to be hovering over the older man, while still having his arms around Tzusuki's neck.

Gazing into his deep, green eyes, Tzusuki begins to blush.

"Promise me something..." Hisoka says shortly. His short hair slips out of place, giving him a dog-like appearance.

"What...?"

"Promise me you'll never try and leave me." says Hisoka, tears in his eyes.

"Hisoka-"

"Promise me, damn it!" says the other loudly, his arms linking more firmly around his neck. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if you try and pull a stunt like that again!"

Sitting up, Tzusuki hugs Hisoka against himself, his eyes closing. "I promise." he says gently.

...

Muraki swears hellishly as he walks down the sidewalk towards the hospital, the wound in his chest bleeding off-and-on. "Saki..." he says venomously. "I told you I would kill you before I let myself die...but..." Glancing up at the sky, he sees the stars. "...but you are truely dead now. All these years...I have been keeping you alive to kill you...But if you die before I kill you, what do I have left...?"


End file.
